


Get Your Motor Runnin'

by supernatural9917



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean knows nothing about cars, DeanCas Flipfest 2018, Gay Dean Winchester, M/M, Mechanic Castiel, Supportive John Winchester, cas thinks he's straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 01:06:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernatural9917/pseuds/supernatural9917
Summary: Dean Winchester knows nothing about cars, so now that he’s inherited his dad’s 1967 Chevy Impala, he’ll need all the help he can get from the only mechanic his dad ever trusted: Cas Novak, proprietor of Novak Automotive Repair & Restoration. Cas offers to teach Dean basic car maintenance in exchange for getting to drive Baby sometimes, and Dean jumps at the chance to spend more time with the handsome, witty mechanic. Unfortunately for Dean’s growing crush, Cas is also completely straight…





	Get Your Motor Runnin'

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing this, and then [destimushi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/destimushi/pseuds/destimushi) went and made this ridiculously beautiful art to go with it! Thanks to the Profound Bond team for running this fabulous challenge and all the support for authors and artists they provide! Finally, thanks as always to my fabulous beta athaclena.

 

 

Dean Winchester knows nothing about cars. He didn't know how to change the oil on his old Prius, and at least that car had an instruction manual. His dad's 1967 Chevy Impala doesn't even have that, so he's really got no chance at being able to take care of her himself. However, she (never _it_ ) had been John's pride and joy, and it had basically been his dying wish that Dean take care of her until one of them died. The unspoken implication was that she should outlive Dean, and it would be a failure of his duty should it be the reverse.

That was all well and good for John, who actually _knew_ about cars. Dean was never one for getting his hands dirty; he'd been a bookworm at school, played the French horn, attended Stanford, and become an actuary. Getting all greasy and sweaty under the hood of a car was not exactly his idea of a good time. Nevertheless, here he was, having promised John that he'd look after Baby, and he took his filial duty seriously. John had been an amazing father, stepping up after his wife's early death to raise his two sons with all the love and care they had needed. When Dean had come out as gay at the age of fifteen, John had been nothing but supportive, attended PFLAG meetings, and drove Dean to Pride when he was too young to drive himself. Dean is well aware that it could all have been very different, so if he could thank his father with something as simple as maintaining a car, he's happy to do it.

Unfortunately, Baby has now started making a strange noise whenever he turns left, and Dean has no idea what that's about.

Fortunately, along with the keys and registration, John had also given Dean a business card for Novak Automotive Repair & Restoration, Castiel Novak, proprietor.

Castiel Novak, or rather, Cas as John always called him, was apparently only a few years older than Dean, but he and John had struck up a friendship that had begun with Cas helping John source parts and grown with Cas helping John practically rebuild Baby after a nasty accident that had left her half crushed. John trusted no other mechanic with Baby's health, and he had given Dean strict instructions to listen to Cas, the whole Cas, and nothing but the Cas, so help him god. The mighty Cas had unfortunately been out of town when John passed away, and wasn't able to get back in time for the funeral, so Dean hasn't actually met him yet. In the two months he's been back living in Lawrence, Baby hasn’t had any problems, so there hasn't been any need to go to his garage.

But now she's making that weird noise whenever he turns left, so Dean makes an appointment with the bubbly receptionist and brings Baby in to Novak Automotive Repair & Restoration. He pulls into a space marked _NAR &R customers only_, but before he can go into the office, a tall dark-haired man in blue coveralls walks out of the workshop and smiles at him.

'I'd know that purr anywhere,' the man says with a smile. 'And since you're the one holding her keys, I'm guessing you're Dean Winchester.'

Dean extends his hand for a shake, but the man holds his up to show how filthy they are, and Dean's hand goes back into his pocket. 'Yeah, that's me. Are you Castiel?'

'Yep, I'm Cas. It's nice to finally meet you, Dean. Your dad talked about you so much, I almost felt like I knew you already. He was very proud of you.'

Dean blushes, and it's not just because of the praise. Cas is really freakin' hot, and Dean's never been very good at talking to people he finds attractive. Fortunately, he's also well aware of Cas's reputation around town as a ladies' man, and knowing the guy is totally off-limits helps to keep him from going too stupid.

'Dad spoke highly of you as well. Said I wasn't supposed to trust anyone else with Baby.'

Castiel smiles, widely at first, but then drooping a bit with sadness. 'Your dad was a great guy. I was very sorry to miss his funeral.' They're both silent for a moment, letting John's memory sit between them, until Cas changes the subject. 'So, is this a social call, or does Baby need some TLC?'

'The latter, I'm afraid,' Dean replies. 'She's making a weird noise whenever I turn left.'

'Have you tried just not turning left?' Cas asks impishly. 'It works for UPS.'

'Honestly, with any other car I'd probably just do that, but I promised my dad I'd look after Baby, and I'm afraid he'll haunt me if I don't get her checked out.'

Castiel laughs, and Dean melts a little bit inside. Damn this guy for being so attractive.

'I think I know what the problem might be. Can you leave her with me for a couple of hours?'

'Yeah, I was just going to sit in the coffee shop across the street and do some work, so just give me a buzz when you want me to come back. Your receptionist has my cell number.'

'Great, I'll let you know as soon as I can.' Dean hands over the key, and as he's walking away, he turns back and sees Cas running a hand lovingly over Baby's frame. Great, now he's envious of a car.

Cas calls about an hour later, explaining whatever is wrong as if Dean has any idea what he's talking about. Dean makes the appropriate noises and agrees to the repair plan, which is apparently simple and inexpensive. After another hour, Cas calls again to say Baby is ready; acting on impulse, Dean buys two coffees to go, and is vindicated when a tired-looking Cas smiles broadly as he's handed the cup.

'You're a lifesaver,' he sighs, sipping it black. 'It's been a long day. Have a seat.'

Dean happily complies and sips his own coffee, with cream and sugar, and tries desperately not to stare at Cas. 'Thanks for taking care of Baby. I'm completely useless with that kind of thing.'

'I'd be happy to teach you some basics if you want,' Cas offers.

'Oh, I couldn't take up your time like that,' Dean demurs.

'Hey, I'm never going to complain about spending time with her,' Cas admits. 'Tell you what, I'll trade you basic car maintenance lessons for the chance to drive her sometimes.'

'That sounds like a pretty good deal. Are you sure?'

'Definitely. Are you free on Saturday afternoon? We could start with changing tires and oil. Say one o'clockish?'

'That would be great,' Dean says enthusiastically. 'I could bring some lunch if you want.'

'Awesome. I'll see you then.' Cas hands Dean the keys, and Dean finds himself looking forward to the weekend much more than usual.

**********

Saturday finally arrives, and Dean borrows some coveralls for the auto repair lesson. It turns out not to be that hard, and he feels very accomplished at the end. Then it's time to keep up his end of the bargain, and he tosses Cas the keys before taking the coveralls off. Underneath his own pair, Cas is wearing slightly baggy jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of a cowboy hat and Old West style writing that spells out 'Posse Magnet' underneath it. Dean raises an eyebrow at the terrible joke, but Cas just grins and shrugs.

'What can I say, I love posse.' Dean rolls his eyes and gets into the passenger side while Cas gets in the driver's seat. He smiles widely, running his hands over the seat and the dashboard. 'Now talk about a posse magnet. You must have to fight the girls off with a stick when you drive past in this beauty.'

'Uh, can't say that I do.'

'Oh come on. Are you seriously telling me that you haven’t had any girls in that spacious back seat?' Cas scoffs.

'I can honestly say that I've never had a girl anywhere near that back seat for nefarious purposes,' Dean replies.

'I'm sure your dad wouldn't have minded, Dean. Hell, he told me one or two stories about… er, never mind. You probably don't want to hear those stories.'

Dean shudders. 'You are definitely right about that last part.' He pauses, unsure of how much to reveal; Cas's comments make it clear that John had never told him about Dean's orientation. 'So, uh, did Dad ever tell you much about my personal life?'

Cas seems a bit confused at the direction his question has taken, but he answers anyway. 'No, he just talked about your educational and professional achievements, and the odd story from your childhood.'

'Ah, that explains it. Uh, I've never had a girl in the back seat because, well, they're not exactly my type.'

'Oh,' Cas says, drawing out the sound to indicate his comprehension. 'Sorry, I hope I didn't offend you in any way.'

'Not at all. I don't know why Dad didn't mention it, but yeah, I'm gay.'

'It probably just never came up. OK then, are you telling me you've never had a boy in that spacious back seat?'

'Well, maybe one or two,' Dean says with a smile. Cas smirks back and starts the engine, sighing with satisfaction.

'They just don't make 'em like this anymore. So, how about we get out on some back roads and really stretch her out?'

'You're the one in the driver's seat, I'm just along for the ride.'

Cas takes her out on one of the old US routes, since made redundant by the interstate system, and soon Baby is roaring along at eighty miles an hour. Dean never goes above the speed limit, and doesn't usually like drivers who do, but Cas looks so good in his sunglasses, with the window rolled down, arm casually resting on the frame and hair blowing in the wind, that Dean doesn't even think to complain. The mini crush that was born when he first saw Cas is quickly developing into a full-blown one, and there really is nothing more frustrating than having a crush on a straight guy.

'So I thought next week I'd show you some more under the hood stuff, if you're free of course.'

Of course Dean is free if it means spending another afternoon like this, but it's important not to look desperate. 'I'll double-check my calendar, but I'm pretty sure I'm free.'

Cas gives him a little half smile and just says, 'Good.' He reaches for the dial of the radio, turning up John's favourite classic rock station, which Dean had never had the heart to tune away from. The opening chords of 'Born to be Wild' play out, and Cas flashes a particularly wide grin. 'Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway,' he belts out in a voice so sexy it should be illegal, and Dean can definitely say that his motor is running.

Eventually they turn around and head back to town, and sooner than he'd like Dean is back home and ordering delivery for one, trying desperately not to think about exactly the sort of under the hood stuff he'd prefer to do with Cas. Maybe next week he'd see if Cas wanted to get dinner after their drive.

**********

Cas does want to get dinner after their drive, and they head around the corner from the garage to The Roadhouse for burgers. Dean had actually been a vegetarian for a while when he was still in California, but Kansas didn't exactly have the same variety of veggie-friendly options as the Bay Area; plus he rediscovered that a real burger made him very happy, and today he's more than happy to join Cas in the double bacon cheeseburger monstrosity named in the menu as The Heart Attack. Cas moans with pleasure when he first bites down, and Dean has to think of naked grannies to bring down the inappropriate boner that noise caused. He'll remember it later, though, when he's alone in bed and thinking of Cas like he has every other night since they met.

'So what's in the lesson plan for next week, then?' Dean asks once the plates have been taken away.

'Oh, sorry, I actually can't do next week. I'm going away for the weekend with my girlfriend.' Dean forces himself to keep a neutral expression and not slump down in his seat with disappointment. 'Week after is good though. I've got a couple of simple parts replacements we can try.'

'Great. Going anywhere nice with your girl?'

'Vegas,' Cas grins.

'Ah, so should I expect you back with a wedding ring?' Dean teases, ignoring the clench in his stomach when he says it. Fortunately, Cas grimaces like it's the worst idea he's ever heard.

'God no. Meg is going to see Celine Dion. We'll gamble, booze it up, fuck a whole bunch, and then fly home.'

'You're going to see Celine Dion?' Dean hopes he still sounds teasing, but actually he's pretty jealous not just that this Meg woman gets to fuck Cas a whole bunch, but that they're going to see Celine.

Cas snorts derisively. 'No, _Meg_ is going to see Celine Dion.'

'So what will you do while she's doing that?'

Cas shrugs. 'Strip club.'

'And she's OK with that?'

'Yeah, she's a cool chick. As long as I don't hook up with any of the strippers, she's fine with it.'

'You say that like it's been an issue before.'

'I can neither confirm nor deny hooking up with strippers on occasion,' Cas says with a wink, and for a moment Dean wishes he was a stripper. 'Anyway, what about you? Any dates lined up?'

'Nah. Haven't really done much socialising since moving back to Lawrence. It's not exactly San Francisco, you know?'

Cas nods thoughtfully. 'Fair enough. But hey, with KU here, there must be some more progressive places to meet people. It's not like we're in Bumfuck, Alabama or something.'

'I don't know, Bumfuck sounds like a pretty good place for gay guys to meet,' Dean jokes, and is rather pleased when Cas laughs until tears are coming out of his eyes. Dean likes it a lot when Cas laughs.

'Oh man, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. Good one. Hey, looks like a pool table's opened up, do you want a game?'

Dean isn't great at pool, but he doesn't mind losing, because every time it's Cas's turn he bends over to take the shots and that is all right by Dean.

**********

The following Saturday, Dean decides to take Cas's advice and get out there. He ends up in a gay club near the KU campus, and gets a pretty tremendous BJ in the restroom from a guy called Matt who, by complete coincidence, has dark hair and blue eyes. They exchange numbers, text occasionally during the week, and even make plans for the next Saturday; Dean obviously leaves plenty of time for his car lesson and drive with Cas, but this time he'll be having dinner at The Roadhouse with Matt instead. It's time to nip this crush in the bud before it becomes something much worse.

**********

Dean greets Cas cheerfully, but gets only a grunt in reply. 'How was Vegas?'

'Shit.'

'Oh, sorry man. Something go wrong?'

'Well, I don't have a girlfriend anymore, so you could say that.'

Dean forced himself to ignore the colony of butterflies that suddenly erupted from their cocoons in his stomach. 'Oh no, I'm sorry.'

'Eh, whatever. We hadn't been together that long. It was just annoying, I was all well-behaved, and then _she_ ends up hooking up with a stripper and not even inviting me.'

'Wow. You have an interesting life.' That makes Cas laugh, and now his mood seems to be restored to its usual friendliness.

'Did you do anything fun last weekend?'

'Uh, yeah, I went out clubbing.' The blush must be obvious on his cheeks because Cas smirks and quirks an eyebrow in question. 'I kinda met someone.'

'Nice. Seeing him again?'

'Yeah, tonight in fact.'

'Oh, that's cool.' Cas actually seems a bit disappointed, and the butterflies take flight again.

'But not until seven. We'll have plenty of time for a drive and maybe a beer afterwards, if you want.'

'Sounds good,' Cas says, and the smile is back.

The maintenance lesson kind of goes over Dean's head, because they spend the whole time side by side under the hood of the Impala, shoulders brushing constantly, and Dean's brain has gotten stuck on the thought that Cas is single. He reminds his brain that Cas is also still straight, so it doesn't matter whether Cas is single or has a harem of wives waiting at home, because Dean's chances are the same either way, but it doesn't really help.

After their drive, Cas just heads straight to The Roadhouse, because he can walk to the garage for his car from there. They settle in with their beers and Cas describes the wildness and eventual disappointment of his Vegas weekend with such humour that Dean almost ends up with beer coming out of his nose. He loses complete track of time, doesn't even realise it's seven o'clock until Cas excuses himself to use the restroom and nearly runs into someone coming into the bar on his way there. Dean was of course looking at his ass as he walked away, so he sees the near-miss, and realises that it's Matt. He waves, and Matt walks over with a smile that looks very promising for Dean's chances of getting laid later.

'Hey, hope you haven't been waiting long,' Matt says, sitting down next to Dean.

'Not at all, I was actually just having a drink with my friend Cas. He's teaching me how to work on my car.'

Matt doesn't bother to reply; he just goes in for a deep kiss right off the bat. Dean is a bit dazed when they come back up for air, which is why he only realises that Cas has returned because of an awkward throat clearing coming from behind Matt's shoulder.

'Cas! Hey, um, this is Matt.'

Cas nods and hastily grabs his jacket, his cheeks a becoming shade of pink presumably from the embarrassment of seeing Dean with another dude's tongue halfway down this throat. 'Nice to meet you. I'll leave you to your date. See you next week, Dean?'

'Yeah, definitely. See ya Cas.' Cas waves, and Dean forces himself to look back at Matt instead of Cas's retreating form. 'So, should I ask for menus?'

'How about we go back to my place, order a pizza, and I fuck your brains out while we wait for it to arrive?' They're out of the bar in record time, and after a brief moment of admiration for the Impala, Matt has Dean pressed against it for another fiery kiss. 'Hurry up and take me home,' Matt growls, sprinting to the passenger seat. Something makes Dean look towards the bar again, and he sees Cas smoking a cigarette, staring right at them. Dean fantasises that Cas is jealous, storms over to the Impala, shoves Matt aside, and takes Dean right there in the back seat. In reality, Cas waves again, Dean waves back, and about forty minutes later, Matt provides Dean with a very satisfactory orgasm and some nice pizza.

**********

'I take it your date went well,' Cas says the next time Dean's at the garage.

'Uh, yeah, pretty good,' Dean replies with a blush.

'Should I be showing you the best way to clean the leather in the back seat?' Cas asks with a knowing grin.

'Oh, um, no need,' Dean stammers. 'We went back to his place.'

Cas doesn't say anything else about it until they're back at The Roadhouse. 'Should I be making myself scarce a bit earlier tonight?'

'Why?'

'I thought you might be meeting your boyfriend again tonight.'

'He's not really my boyfriend, we've only been out a couple of times. And no, we went out last night, he's working tonight.'

'What does he do?'

'He works at a gym.'

'On a Saturday night?' Cas asks with surprise.

'Yeah, it's a twenty-four hour gym.'

'And are things going well?'

'Yeah, I guess. He's pretty cute. I don't really know him that well yet. How about you, seeing anyone new?'

'No, thought I'd give it a few weeks before diving back into the dating pool.'

Dean prefers not to examine how relieved he is to hear that.

**********

Matt invites Dean over mid-week for dinner and sex but is understandably put out when Dean calls out the wrong name as he comes. Dean apologises, but still ends up going home, and they decide not to see each other again. When Saturday comes around again, he just tells Cas it didn't work out. After their usual one beer, Dean goes home and downloads Grindr, but he doesn't have the guts to use it until a couple of nights later. Another dark-haired, blue-eyed man catches his eye, and they agree to meet at a bar near Dean's apartment. Dmitri is a Russian exchange student at KU, and he has no understanding of personal space, but Dean isn't too put out by that. Just before they leave for Dean's place, he thinks he sees Cas standing by the bar, but then Dmitri is practically dragging him out to the Impala. They don't make it back to Dean's; Dmitri just gets them into a sixty-nine position in Baby's back seat, and when he goes to leave in his own car, Dean's sure that he sees Cas's car speeding out of the parking lot.

It doesn't come up on Saturday; Cas seems oddly subdued, but Dean is too embarrassed by the thought of Cas having seen the Impala rocking to bring it up himself. He goes back on Grindr after Cas leaves The Roadhouse and finds yet another cheap imitation at a bar a few blocks down the road. He almost leaves when he sees Cas's car parked at the same bar, but decides he's not going to let his unrequited crush on a straight dude stop him from getting laid. After all, it was Cas who said he should get back out there, and Cas who had said he should be using Baby's back seat as nature intended. It's not like Cas cares if Dean was with other guys; it's not like Cas wants him.

The bar is busy, and if Cas is in here, Dean can't see him. He finds his hook-up, and after the bare minimum of small talk, they head for the parking lot. They trade quick and dirty blowjobs in the Impala, and when they climb back out and say their goodbyes, Dean sees Cas having a smoke not ten yards away. He waves the pack of cigarettes invitingly, and by the time Dean has walked over, Cas has one lit for him.

'I guess you have a type,' Cas says.

'Maybe,' Dean replies, not meeting Cas's eyes.

'I think next week I'll show you how to detail the interior. It's important to keep the leather in good shape.' Dean's face feels like it's on fire he's blushing so hard. That's the third time Cas has seen him hooking up with guys who look vaguely like Cas, and Dean is pretty sure that Cas is clever enough to figure out what that means. 'And maybe we could go somewhere for dinner after our drive. Unless you've got other plans.'

Dean tries not to hyperventilate. 'Dinner sounds good. There's a diner a few blocks from your shop that does great pie.'

Cas stubs out his cigarette and nods. 'It's a date. See you next week.' He goes back into the bar, and Dean hyperventilates.

 _It's a date_ is just a figure of speech. Dean is ninety-nine percent sure that Cas didn't really mean that it was a _date_ date. That doesn't prevent him from spending the next week fantasising about it being a date date, but it does prevent him from going on Grindr again.

**********

Baby is gleaming inside and out by the time they're done with her, and Dean imagines his dad smiling down on him in approval. They wash their hands and take off their coveralls before heading out for their drive. Dean had spent far too long agonising about what to wear, and ultimately chose a green shirt that brought out his eyes and blue jeans that hug his ass just right. Cas looks amazing in a steel-grey t-shirt and black jeans, but then, Cas always looks amazing. He looks amazing getting behind the wheel, and he looks amazing with the wind in his hair as he drives Baby far too fast over the back roads of the flat Kansas prairie. He looks amazing when he pulls what looks like a mix tape out of his pocket and pops it into the cassette player, and he definitely looks amazing as he sings along to Led Zeppelin at the top of his lungs. Dean doesn't know any of the words, so he just taps his fingers on the window frame and bobs his head up and down, trying not to look at Cas too often and mostly failing.

It's later than usual when they finally pull into the diner. Cas is handsome, witty and charming, and he flirts with the waitress, and Dean has never wanted anyone so badly in his life. But this probably isn't a date, and Dean just needs to chill out and not picture Cas spreading him out on this table.

After dinner they go outside, and Cas offers him a cigarette. Dean doesn't really smoke, but if it means spending another few minutes with Cas, he'll take it. Cas lights two at once like some kind of Golden Age movie heartthrob, and Dean tries not jump when their fingers brush as Cas hands him the cigarette. They smoke in companionable silence until Cas speaks.

'So I guess you're finding your feet in the Lawrence dating scene,' he says, so casually that it's almost too casual.

'I don't know if I'd call it dating,' Dean replies. 'It'll do for now.'

'Has that always been your type?' Cas asks.

'No, it's a more recent development.'

Cas looks at him speculatively, gaze resting a bit too long to be a casual glance.

Maybe it's the nicotine buzz, maybe it's something in how Cas seems almost a bit nervous, but Dean finds himself feeling bold. 'Cas, not for nothin', but the last time someone looked at me like that... I got laid.'

Cas laughs. 'I'd probably be a terrible disappointment. I wouldn't know where to begin.'

'I'm sure you'd figure it out,' Dean assures him with a saucy wink he had no idea he was capable of. Cas licks his lips, eyes dipping to Dean's mouth, and that's when Dean knows he's got him. He has to ask himself whether he's willing to be Cas's bi-curious experiment, with all the inherent risks to his own heart of that scenario, but as he slowly rakes his eyes over Cas's body, noticing the beginnings of a tell-tale bulge in his jeans, Dean knows the answer is _FUCK YEAH_. 'Care to test the theory?'

Cas's eyes widen, and for a second there Dean thinks he's going to bolt. Instead, he swallows hard and says, 'My place is a couple of blocks from here.'

They leave the Impala at the diner and walk rather briskly to Cas's apartment without exchanging another word. Cas fumbles a bit with the key, but eventually succeeds in letting them in. Dean follows his example of taking off his shoes in the entryway, and then they're in the living room. Dean walks up to Cas and cups his jaw.

'Can I kiss you?' Dean whispers. Cas nods and Dean leans in with soft lips, holding back the desperation to dive deep and take what he wants. After a couple of brief, closed mouth kisses, he pulls back to see Cas's reaction. It's everything he could wish for: dilated pupils, flushed cheeks and panting breaths all spell out a positive response. 'OK so far?' Cas nods again, so Dean goes back in, a deeper kiss this time, letting his mouth open slightly, tentatively; when Cas responds in kind, Dean just slips in the tip of his tongue. Then it's like a switch has flipped in Cas, and he grabs Dean's shirt, pulls him in closer, turning the kiss frantic. Dean lets it happen for a while, but gradually tones it down, and finally pulls away just enough to leave an inch or two between them.

'Why did you stop?' Cas asks breathlessly.

'Just want to take it slow. I've wanted you for so long, I need to savour this.' Dean kissed his way along Cas's jaw, to his earlobe and down his neck. 'I never thought I'd get to do this.'

'I never thought I'd want you to,' Cas admits. 'I didn’t know what I was feeling. It's been… different.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' Dean asks, moving his kisses to the other side of Cas's neck.

'Maybe it would be better to start with that, yes,' Cas says, sounding a bit reluctant, but Dean stops the kisses immediately and instead takes Cas's hand and leads him to the couch.

'I'm listening,' Dean says, sitting at an angle and distance so that just the caps of their knees touch, leaving it up to Cas to get closer if he wants to.

'Can you tell me what it was like for you? Realising you… liked men? How you started dating?'

Dean is a bit surprised by this request but supposes that Cas is looking for some kind of frame of reference- perhaps some understanding that his hesitation is normal. For a man with a reputation for loving women as much as Cas does, it's probably a completely new feeling to feel hesitant about sex.

'I'm not sure my story is that interesting. My first crush was on He-Man when I was four. I think by the time I actually came out at fifteen, my dad was just relieved that I'd finally decided to tell him, because it definitely wasn't a surprise.'

'I was surprised,' Cas admits quietly. 'You're not exactly a walking stereotype. Sorry, I don't mean to be offensive,' he adds quickly.

Dean laughs. 'It's fine. You're right, I am kind of butch,' he teases. 'Sammy used to say that I was overcompensating, but it's just how I am. I wasn't obvious because I sashayed around the house, I was obvious because I never showed the least interest in girls and all my crushes were boys. I learned pretty quick to keep that locked down when I was younger, but by the time I got to high school I stopped caring. I made some good friends, we all came out together, and we protected each other from the homophobes. My dad was great about it, so all in all it was about as easy as it could have been for the nineties.'

'I'm glad you had a supportive family,' Cas says.

'Yeah, it helped a lot. Didn't help me get any dates, mind you,' Dean jokes. 'It took a bit longer for that to happen. I was still pure as the new-fallen snow when I left for Stanford.'

'And now?' Cas asks with a raised eyebrow.

'Pure as the driven slush,' Dean replies with a wink. 'Nowhere like northern California for a gay boy to find himself. But don't get me wrong, the first time I did anything with a guy, I was terrified. I mean, there I was, eighteen years old, from Kansas, never even kissed with tongue before, and there's this gorgeous, tan, blond, California surfer dude telling me he wants to f- um, wants me, and I almost had a panic attack. Luckily he was really nice and we took it really slow. Didn't even take my shirt off till the third date.'

'But you did want to… do stuff with him?'

'God yeah! But when you're not experienced, it's all nerve-wracking, you know? Or were you always super smooth with the ladies?'

It's Cas's turn to laugh. 'Uh, no. My early experiences were also a bit scary.'

'But it didn't mean you weren't into it, right?' Dean coaxed.

'No, it didn't,' Cas replies thoughtfully.

'Well, that's how it was for me. I was just a bit older than most people when I started. On the other hand, I ended up having a lot of firsts with someone who knew what he was doing, and was willing to be patient, so thinking about it, I was pretty lucky. It was worth the wait.'

'What was his name?'

'Joe,' Dean says with a small smile.

'Were you together a long time?'

'Six months or so. He was a senior, he graduated, he moved to LA. It was amicable. He's married now, he and his husband adopted a couple of kids.'

'It's nice that you can still speak of him with fondness. My first serious relationship ended in complete disaster.'

'Well, I've had that kind too,' Dean admits. 'With Joe, the whole thing was lucky from start to finish, and that includes the fact that he was leaving. It could have gone pretty wrong if he'd stayed or if we'd tried to do the long-distance thing.' He pauses, watching Cas nod thoughtfully. 'Can I ask why you wanted me to talk about this?'

'I was wondering if it was normal to be this nervous. I just… Dean, I've been completely blindsided by this. It's never really occurred to me that I might be anything other than one hundred percent straight. The last few weeks have been… confusing.'

'Tell me,' Dean asked gently.

Cas took a deep breath and looked down at his own hands. 'When I saw you kissing that first guy, I was surprised to feel a bit jealous, and kind of turned on. I had no idea what to do with those feelings, so I ignored them. Then I felt like I kept seeing you everywhere, getting it on with guys who sort of looked like me, and I thought maybe it wasn't a coincidence that they sort of looked like me.'

'It wasn't.'             

'I imagined you thinking of me when you were with them.'

'I did. Matt dumped me because I said your name during sex.' He grins when Cas laughs in response.

'Well, I liked the thought of that. And then I imagined _myself_ with you, and I liked it.' Cas finally lifts his eyes to see how Dean is taking this confession and is met with a shy grin that he returns in kind. 'I don't know what that means exactly, if I've just been suppressing that part of myself, or if I'm just confused or curious, I'm not sure. And I can understand if that's a problem. I did some reading, and I know that bi-curious men are not seen in the best light, and I would get it if you feel uncomfortable helping me experiment with this-'

Dean breaks off Cas's rambling with a finger to his lips. 'Cas, I like you. I'm happy to help you figure this out, and if you decide it's not for you, we'll go back to being friends. I know you wouldn't purposely try to hurt me.'

'That doesn't mean I won't anyway,' Cas mumbles. 'And I don't want to hurt you. I care about you.'

'I know. But I'll be honest, Cas- I'd rather have something than nothing, and I'm willing to take a chance with you.'

Cas blushes, his smile growing broader. Dean's heart thumps in his chest, and he's pretty sure that if he were a cartoon, it would be visible through his shirt. Cas leans forward, puts his hand at the back of Dean's head and pulls him close for a soft kiss.

'Can we… can we just do this tonight?' Cas asks between gentle, chaste kisses.

'Anything you want, Cas' Dean sighs. ' _Only_ what you want.'

'Well, I kinda want to make out like a couple of teenagers,' Cas says with a cheeky grin.

Dean doesn't bother to reply with words, instead diving forward to capture Cas's lips. Cas responds hungrily, and they just kiss, for minutes or possibly hours, Dean isn't quite sure. They slowly adjust their positions on the couch, and eventually Dean is flat on his back with Cas on top of him. Their hands never wander below the shoulders, all the touch staying as fingers tangled in hair or a loose grip on a neck, but as time passes, Cas begins to move his hips unconsciously, sufficiently relaxed into what they're doing that he allows instinct to take over. Dean, who has been hard for what seems like days now, moans as he feels the same response in Cas's body; Cas growls at that, and the kisses that had been long and languid become hotter, deeper, more urgent. For Dean, it's suddenly too much, and he ends the kiss with extreme reluctance.

'Cas,' he pants, 'this is gonna get embarrassing for me real soon if you don't stop.' He looks up and sees the dazed lust in Cas's eyes, and it's all he can do to maintain that short distance for his self-control.

'Oh,' Cas says, understanding clearing the haziness from his expression. 'And you don't want…'

Dean shakes his head to interrupt. 'Oh, I want,' he assures him. 'There's nothing I don't want in this scenario. But I promised I'd move slow and that we'd just make out tonight.'

Cas sighs and flops his head onto Dean's chest. 'I obviously didn't take into account how making out for-' he checks his watch and his eyes widen in surprise- 'two hours would make me feel.'

'Two hours?' Dean asks. 'Wow.'

Cas looks into his eyes and smiles. 'Wow is right.' He moves his arms to bracket Dean's head, and then grins wickedly just before rolling his hips again. 'I'm feeling… less confused,' he says suggestively.

'That's good,' Dean replies breathily. 'But I'd still rather not come in my pants.'

'Then we should probably get your pants off,' Cas murmurs as he kisses Dean's neck, and Dean is sure he can feel the lips turn up into a kiss when he moans again in response.

'Are you sure?' he whispers.

Cas pulls back and looks him in the eye. 'Yes.'

It's all pretty hasty from there; Cas gets off the couch and takes off his shirt, which temporarily distracts Dean from unbuttoning his jeans. In fact, Cas is down to his underwear before Dean realises he's just been staring, so he quickly gets with the program to catch up. He sits up and realises that Cas is _right there_ , at just the right height, in just his boxer briefs, erection straining against it, and Dean reaches out to touch. The responding moan encourages him to pull the last bit of fabric off too.

'Can I?' he asks, and Cas nods as he curls his fingers into Dean's hair. Cas's cock looks so good, and Dean can't resist licking the length and then swirling his tongue around the head before taking it fully into his mouth. His hands go down to his own boxers to free himself, and he wraps a hand around his shaft to stroke himself.

'Dean, no, don't finish, I want to touch you,' Cas protests.

Dean pulls his mouth off to speak. 'No way I'm gonna last,' he explains.

'Then stop for a minute. Take off your boxers.' He doesn't wait for Dean to obey, just bends over and pulls them off himself before straddling Dean's lap. Dean takes them both in hand and strokes firm and fast; it only takes a few tugs before Dean is spilling all over his hand and stomach, and then watching with rapt attention as Cas cries out his name when he does the same. Cas rests his forehead against Dean's as they come back down to earth, and Dean prays this won't be the last time he gets to touch Cas like this. 'Was it good, Cas?' he whispers.

'Incredible.' Cas is still breathing heavily and looking debauched, and Dean is utterly thrilled to have been the one to make him like that.

'For me too.' Dean doesn't really want to move, but they need to clean up, and Cas's weight is starting to cut off his circulation. Cas climbs off his lap, uses his shirt to wipe them down, and extends a hand to help Dean stand up. He pulls Dean in for another kiss, with none of the urgency of a few minutes earlier, but back to the sexy, unhurried nature of the two hours before.

'Shower?' Dean suggests, and Cas leads him by the hand to master suite. The shower is just about big enough for two, and they wash each other off with light touches. After drying off, Cas pulls Dean into his bed, and they lie on their sides facing each other. 'So,' Dean starts.

'So.'

'How's bi-curiosity working out for you?'

Cas laughs, a happy, rich sounds that Dean adores. 'I'd say it's going pretty well so far. Thanks for asking.'

Dean can't hold back from kissing him again, deep and slow, and Cas kisses back with equal ardour. By the time they come up for air, their limbs are tangled together.

'Was it how you imagined?' Dean asks.

'Better. I had no real idea how it would be, but whatever I was thinking, you exceeded my expectations. I hope I wasn't a disappointment.'

'Are you kidding me? Nothing about you is disappointing, Cas.' They kiss a bit more, and Dean would happily just curl into Cas and fall asleep, but he doesn't know if Cas is expecting him to stay or go. 'So, um, should I…'

'Please stay. I might freak out a bit if I'm left alone with my own thoughts all night.'

Dean cuddles Cas in close, tucking his head against Dean's shoulder. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'Sorry, you must think I'm an idiot, potentially panicking over high school level making out.'

'You clearly had a much more exciting time in high school than I did,' Dean jokes. 'And I don't think you're an idiot. Like I said, first times are scary.'

'You made it very not scary, Dean. I enjoyed it very much.'

'Good. I'm glad.' He desperately hopes that this means Cas would be up for doing it again, and maybe more. Perhaps at some point Cas might be up for reciprocating the blowjob, or maybe even- he cuts off that line of thinking. He doesn't want to get ahead of himself and end up too disappointed. Cas might only ever want what they'd already done, might not even want that again, so it would do him no good to picture himself on his back with his legs around Cas's waist as Cas fucks him into the mattress. No good would come of that at all.

'Penny for your thoughts,' Cas whispers into his neck, and Dean splutters a bit as he tries to think of something to say. 'Are you thinking about what we might do next time?' Dean has an instant to wonder whether Cas is a mindreader before he continues, 'Because I am.'

Some might describe the sound that Dean makes as a whimper. 'Yes,' he admits, but doesn't expound.

'When you've… been with partners in the past…' Cas begins hesitantly, but his pause is long enough that Dean is pretty sure what question he's trying desperately to formulate into non-offensive phrasing.

'Do you want to know if I top or bottom?' Dean asks bluntly, and finds Cas's blush very adorable.

'I wasn't sure what the appropriate way to ask would be.'

'It's fine,' Dean assures him, 'it's an important question to ask. I can go either way, but prefer to bottom.'

'Fuck,' Cas mutters. 'Bet you look hot doing that.'

'You're very welcome to find out at any time,' Dean replies. 'But there's no hurry,' he adds.

'Would you… be willing to go the other way around? At some point?' Cas asks, the blush growing darker and spreading down to his chest. Dean's heart is beating a mile a minute at the unexpected but extremely welcome question.

'Fuck. Uh, yeah Cas, I would definitely be willing to do that. Jesus. Is… is that something you're interested in?'

'Well, I've done the equivalent with women several times, and I did like it.'

Dean feels like his head might explode, and his dick is definitely starting to revive with this kind of talk. It hadn't even occurred to him that Cas would have done even so much as a finger for prostate stimulation, never mind full on pegging, but hell, if he was already into having dick-shaped objects in his ass…

'A dildo just isn't the same, even a good one,' Dean replies. 'If you liked pegging, you will freakin' love the real thing.'

Cas trails his fingers down Dean's stomach and ends up just running his fingertips over Dean's rapidly hardening length with a feather-light touch. 'I look forward to testing that theory soon. _Very_ soon.'

'Me too,' Dean says, rolling onto his side so he can kiss Cas again. 'But I've been fantasising about having you inside me since… well, kind of since you walked out of your shop because you recognised the sound of Baby's engine. So if you don't mind doing that first…'

Cas moans, whether at the thought of having been wanted for so long or just from imagining fucking him, Dean can't tell. 'I'm probably going to need a couple of hours.'

That gets a laugh out of Dean. 'How about we sleep and see how you feel in the morning?'

'Deal. Goodnight Dean.'

'Night Cas.' Dean lets himself be pulled into being the little spoon, and falls asleep with a smile on his face.

**********

Dean wakes up to the insistent press of a hot erection against his ass, and the details of the night before come flooding back. _Cas_. Judging by the squirming of Cas's hips, he's not freaking out yet.

'Morning sunshine,' Cas whispers in his ear before flicking a tongue on the lobe. His hand snakes around and confirms that Dean is in the same state. 'Sleep well?'

'Mmm, yeah, I had an awesome dream that I went to bed with this super hot guy,' Dean replies.

'Must've been a good dream,' Cas agrees, running his fingertips along Dean's length. 'I hope waking up wasn't too much of a let-down.'

Dean rolls over and gives him a kiss, morning breath be damned. Their dicks slide together, and Cas moans against Dean's lips. 'Nope. It's even better in reality.'

Cas grabs Dean's ass and pulls him closer. 'I've come to a decision on the fucking you question.'

'Oh?'

'Yes. I'm for it.'

'Have you got condoms and lube?'

'Shit. Not lube.'

Dean tries not to feel too disappointed. 'Then how about we get each other off another way, have breakfast, and then go to my place? Or have you got plans today?'

'No plans.'

'Good,' Dean says emphatically before pushing Cas onto his back and sliding down to get his mouth around that gorgeous cock again. The sounds Cas is making drive Dean wild, and he barely needs to touch himself to come. The vibrations from his moans push Cas over as well, and Dean happily swallows it all.

'Fuuuuck,' Cas groans. 'I am definitely bisexual.'

Dean laughs. 'I'm not sure you can tell that just from a blowjob,' he teases. 'Your body could have thought I was just a short-haired girl.'

'Pretty sure the come on my legs would've dispelled that notion,' Cas says dryly. 'But trust me, I was in no way confused about the gender of the person sucking my dick.'

'Sorry about that,' Dean says sheepishly. 'I was just too far gone.' He accepts the tissues that Cas hands him and cleans them both up.

'It's really not a problem,' Cas assures him, pulling Dean back up into his arms. 'What do you want to do for breakfast?'

'Well, we have to pick up the Impala from the diner anyway, so we could always just go there.' Dean feels Cas stiffen, and mentally kicks himself for being so stupid. Cas is only just coming to terms with his sexuality; of course he isn't going to want to go for a morning-after breakfast at the same place they had dinner. To him it would probably feel as obvious as wearing a sign that said _I fucked this dude last night_ , and considering the easy distance of the diner from his shop and apartment, he probably went there regularly. Dean felt like an idiot. 'Sorry Cas, that was a stupid idea. How about I pick up Baby and you follow me in your car? That way you can get home afterwards. I've got some eggs and bacon at my house, and I could probably make pancakes.'

'I'm sorry,' Cas says shyly. 'I'm not ashamed or anything, it's just-'

'Cas,' Dean cuts him off, 'it's OK, I get it. I'm not going to force you to publicly out yourself, today or ever. That's your decision to make if or when you feel comfortable doing it.'

Cas is quiet for a couple of minutes. 'What happens if I never feel ready?' he asks softly.

Dean looks up at him. 'Then we'll go back to being friends, like we said last night.' Cas looks disappointed, but Dean knows he has to draw a firm line here. 'Hey, Cas, it's OK. I can definitely be patient and help you figure out what you want from this, but I'm not willing to live forever in somebody else's closet. If things work out between us long-term, that would have to include being out, but I'm not going to push you into that overnight. If you decide you just wanna fuck around for a little while and then go back to dating women, I'll deal with it.'

Cas sighs. 'I guess this is why bi-curious guys aren't too popular, isn't it?'

'You're worth the risk.'

'Dean,' Cas breathes, and there's a softness there Dean hasn't heard before. 'I'll try to be.'

They kiss for a bit longer, until Cas's stomach starts growling to motivate them to get dressed. Cas drives them to the diner, then follows Dean back to his house. It was actually the old family house, looking much the same as when John had lived there, except for the master suite that Dean had claimed and redecorated after John died. Cas watches Dean cook, and they make small talk over breakfast. Dean feels relaxed and cheerful for the first time in weeks despite Cas's admission that he might never be willing to come out; he can live with a temporary vacation to Narnia if it means he gets to act out some of the creative fantasies he's had over the last few months. He's also decided that he's going to let Cas make the first move today, even if that means that nothing ends up happening after all.

He quickly learns that he needn't have worried. The plates are barely in the sink before Cas pulls him into a hungry kiss that leaves him breathless. 'Bedroom. Now,' Cas growls, and what else could Dean do? In the blink of an eye, he's naked on his back in bed writhing onto two of Cas's well-lubed fingers. To his surprise, Cas licks a stripe up Dean's cock before taking the head into his mouth. He's hesitant and doesn't risk going down far, but makes up for it by wrapping his other hand around the shaft and stroking in rhythm with the movement of his mouth. It's far from the best blowjob Dean's ever had, but it's from _Cas_ , and Dean is pretty sure that he's a little bit in love with him.

A third finger goes in, and one of them finds Dean's prostate; luckily Cas has already taken his mouth off Dean's dick, because Dean can't control the jump of his hips as the jolt of pleasure hits him. Cas looks very pleased with himself and strokes the spot again and again as he opens Dean up.

'Cas, you gotta stop,' Dean pants. 'Need you to fuck me now.' He reaches over to the nightstand for a condom and hands it to Cas, who makes quick work of tearing it open, sliding it on and lubing it up. Dean feels him start to press in, slowly and tentatively, but he doesn't have the patience for that. He wraps his legs around Cas's waist and pulls him in, forcing a grunt from Cas as he's buried to the hilt. Dean moans with pleasure at finally getting this, and it's made even better when Cas comes down to kiss him and begins to move his hips.

'Oh fuck, that's good,' Cas says against Dean's mouth. Dean is inclined to agree, especially when Cas adjusts his angle slightly and absolutely _nails_ Dean's prostate on the next thrust. Dean's hips buck up of their own accord, and he clenches tight around Cas; that in turn makes Cas's eyes practically roll back in his head. 'Oh god, yes, fuck, yes,' Cas moans, increasingly incoherent as the thrusting of his hips grows more erratic.

Dean is feeling pretty close himself, so he wraps a hand around his dick to finish things off; looking up at Cas's face, he sees the blue eyes locked on Dean's hand, apparently eager to see Dean come. He doesn't have to wait long; another well-aimed thrust sends Dean toppling over the edge, shooting all over his chest with a depth of pleasure that punches a loud cry of 'Cas!' from his lips. Cas's hips move even faster in reply, and soon he's collapsing on top of Dean, utterly spent and not giving a shit about the mess between them.

'I am _definitely_ bisexual,' Cas states for the second time today. 'You look amazing when you come.'

Dean's blush starts around his nipples and reaches the tips of his ears. 'You looked pretty great yourself, Cas. Um… did you like it?'

Cas rolls onto his back and starts laughing. 'You really need to ask? It was awesome. I'm just wondering how long it'll take me to get it up again for another round.'

'You've got an open invitation, so just let me know,' Dean says with a smile.

**********

The following Saturday, Dean pulls into Cas's garage as usual, but unusually, Cas fully closes and locks the big rolling door as soon as the Impala is parked. Dean steps out of the driver's side, but before he can ask what's going on, Cas has him pressed against the side of the car, lips colliding hungrily with Dean's.

'Hello to you too,' Dean mumbles happily. Cas doesn't answer, but rustles around in the pockets of his coveralls and then shoves a condom and a bottle of Astroglide at Dean's chest.

'I'm going to need you to fuck me, Dean,' Cas says bluntly. 'Right now.' He doesn't wait for a reply before unzipping his coveralls to reveal nothing but Cas underneath. Dean's jaw drops, and he watches helplessly as Cas throws a beach towel onto Baby's hood and climbs up onto it. He pulls off his boots and tosses the coverall aside, then spreads his legs invitingly.

Dean stumbles around the front of the car, hands on his belt, but he freezes again when he sees that Cas has been even more forward-thinking than was immediately obvious- the distinctive bright green base of a plug is clearly visible between Cas's legs. 'Fuck me,' Dean whispers.

'No, it's my turn,' Cas jokes. 'I went to a lot of effort to be ready for you.' He begins stroking his cock, and that snaps Dean out of his paralysis. He practically tears off his clothes, nearly falling over trying to get his shoes and pants off. When he's finally naked, he climbs up the hood and rolls the condom onto his already straining erection. Cas reaches his hand down towards the plug, but Dean bats it away, gripping the base himself. He teases Cas with it for a few brief moments, but frankly, he's no more interested in teasing than Cas is. All he wants is to be buried in that heat. The plug comes out and gets tossed aside, as does the Astroglide once a healthy dollop has been added to the condom.

'You sure about this, Cas?' Dean asks as he lines himself up. _Please say yes, please say yes_.

'Fuck yes! Just do it!' That's good enough for Dean, who slowly buries himself into Cas until he's all the way in.

It turns out that having sex on the hood of a car is actually kind of awkward, but eventually they figure out the best position for their bodies, and Dean gets to work in earnest. Cas is responsive and vocal, and he is clearly loving every second of being fucked. Dean has no idea what he's done to deserve this awesomeness, but he's not complaining. Cas is so tight around him, so hot and slick and good, that it's really no surprise that he can't last long. To make up for it, as soon as he's pulled out, he takes Cas into his mouth and gets him off with a Grade A top-of-the-line Dean Winchester blowjob.

Cas is a floppy, fucked-out mess with a lazy grin when Dean is finished with him, and the feelings that arouses in Dean are overwhelming. 'Fuck, Cas, I love you so much.' He almost immediately starts mentally kicking himself, and Cas is staring at him in shock.

'You… what?'

'Shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean to freak you out,' Dean blurts out.

Cas slides off the Impala and wraps the towel around his waist. 'I, um, I think I maybe need some time to process some things,' he says with a blush, eyes firmly cast down to his bare feet.

'Yeah, yeah, of course,' Dean agrees, swallowing the lump in his throat as he gathers up his clothes and dresses quickly. He's blown it, and the humiliation is painful. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Cas pull his coveralls back on, still looking a bit stunned.

'I'll call you soon,' Cas says once they're both dressed. He unlocks the garage door and sets it to open so Dean can drive out. Before Dean climbs into Baby, Cas gives him a tender kiss. It feels to Dean like a goodbye. Cas taps the hood, and Dean drives away with a wave, certain he'll never see Cas again.

 

The following Friday, Cas sends a text to say he can't do their usual Saturday lesson and drive because he has to go out of town for the weekend. Dean texts back _No problem :)_ and cries himself to sleep. Saturday he mopes around and drinks a lot of wine that doesn't cheer him up. Sunday he's so hung over he can barely think about Cas, though he isn't sure the trade-off was worth it.

He's on his way to work on Monday when he hears a clunk, and then Baby is making a weird noise when he turns right. It actually sounds pretty much the same as the noise she had made a few months ago when turning left, and Dean groans when he realises what that means. He procrastinates another day, but on his way home Tuesday the noise seems to be louder, and he just can't put it off. On Wednesday morning he calls NAR&R to make an appointment with the bubbly receptionist again.

'Novak Automotive Repair & Restoration, Becky speaking!' she answers the phone brightly.

'Hi Becky, I need to make an appointment to get my car seen.'

'Sure thing! What's the name?'

'Dean Winchester. It's the '67 Impala.'

'Dean!' she squeals. 'OMG! But why are you calling? I would have thought being the boss's boyfriend would mean you could just show up whenever you want!'

Dean pulls the phone away from his head and stares at it for a few seconds before putting it back to his ear. 'Um, I'm sorry?'

'Oh, you don't have to be shy,' she says teasingly. 'Mr Novak called a meeting on Monday and came out to all the staff. Of course when he told us he had a special gentleman friend, we couldn't rest until we knew who it was!'

'Special gentleman friend?' Dean asks, still confused.

'Well, that was the gist of it. He said there was a special guy in his life, and when he said it was John Winchester's son, well, we all knew he meant you.'

'I… uh, OK,' Dean stammers, still completely at a loss as to what is happening in this conversation.

'Anywho, if you want we can fit you in this afternoon at two, would that work?' Becky continues, as if she hadn't just turned Dean's world upside down.

'Oh, uh, yeah, that would be great, thanks.'

'Super! Now, don't be surprised if the guys tease you and Mr Novak a bit, but it really is all in good fun. They totally don't mind that their boss is bi and has a boyfriend. Bye now!' She hangs up, and Dean spends the next minute slack-jawed and staring at his phone; he spends the four hours before his appointment staring at spreadsheets on his work computer without absorbing a single detail of what's in them.

Finally, it's quarter to two and he can justify heading out to the garage. As if he were in some kind of weird time loop, the minute he's parked, Cas comes strolling out with a smile on his face just like he did the first time Dean came to him. He looks genuinely happy to see Dean and doesn't hesitate to pull him into a kiss as soon as he's out of the car.

'Hey you,' Cas says. 'I was going to call you tonight, but then Becky said you were coming in this afternoon. Everything OK with Baby?'

'Uh, she's making that weird noise again, but when I turn right this time.'

'Easily fixed. Come on, let's go talk inside.' He pulls Dean by the hand into the garage and immediately turns towards the office.

'Hey boss, is that the boyfriend? Should we turn the music up so we don't hear anything?' comes a shout from the shop floor. Dean turns and sees that it's Ash who made the suggestive comment. The other two mechanics, Garth and Andy, whoop in approval; Andy holds up a couple of bottles of different types of lubricating oil.

'Need any of this, boss? I think there's a two-gallon jug around somewhere.' The three of them crack up, but Cas just rolls his eyes.

'Very funny, guys. Don't worry, I went to Costco and bought the mega pack of Astroglide, so no need to dip into the car supplies. Now get back to work!' He pulls Dean into the office, locks the door and pulls the little blind over the door's window. 'Sorry about them, it's all in good humour really.'

'Yeah, Becky warned me this might happen. But, um, I feel like I missed a memo somewhere. Are we… I wasn't sure if… I mean… am I your boyfriend?'

Cas chuckles. 'I'm sorry, this all kind of happened out of order. Like I said, I was going to call you tonight to talk about it. After what you said the other week, I didn't want to half-ass this. You deserve better than someone who won't even go out for breakfast with you the morning after an amazing night together. So I took a few days to think about what I felt, and then I went to visit my parents last weekend to come out to them.'

'What?' Dean asks, shocked.

'Well, at some point soon I'd like to take you home to introduce you to them, so I figured I'd better warn them first. I wasn't too worried, they're old hippies, so of course they were very accepting and can't wait to meet you.' Dean seems to have lost the ability to speak, so Cas carries on. 'Then on Monday I told my staff, who were very supportive, if somewhat teasing. Don't be surprised if Garth tells you I'm only with you for your car. But don't worry, that's only part of the reason,' he says with a grin.

'I… I… I don't even know what to say,' Dean stutters.

Cas pulls him close by his belt loops until their lips are almost touching. 'You could say what you said that day in the garage,' Cas whispers. Dean swallows hard, trying and failing to stop his body from trembling. When he finally speaks, his voice is a hoarse whisper.

'I love you.'

Cas rests a palm on his cheek with a tenderness that is incongruous with the rough and calloused skin of his hand. 

'I love you too.'

 


End file.
